Mount Pilchuck () is a mountain located in

Snohomish County Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. It is northeast of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. It is part of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

. Mount Pilchuck is located within

Mount Pilchuck State Park Mount Pilchuck State Park is a public recreation area located east of Granite Falls, Washington, on the western edges of the Cascade Mountains. The state park features of alpine scenery, recreational activities, and Mount Pilchuck itself. The ...

, but the area surrounding the mountain, including the

trailhead A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...

, are within the

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

. Under agreement, the trail leading to the summit is wholly maintained by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

, even though it is within a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

. This is one of the most popular trails in the region due to easy access, and panoramic views of the Cascade range to the east, and the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

to the west. At Mount Pilchuck's summit is an old fire lookout tower, now used as shelter for

hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Hist ...

. This former lookout is jointly maintained by

Washington State Parks The Washington State Park System is a set of State park, state parks owned by the state government of Washington (state), Washington, United States, USA. They are managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. There are over 140 ...

and the Everett branch of The Mountaineers. Some years the trail to the summit is still covered with snow until late in the summer.

Etymology

The name for the mountain comes from Chinook Jargon, a trade language widely used in the area in the 19th century. It is a combination of two words: ''pil'', meaning "red," and ''chuck'', meaning "water" or "river." The name possibly comes from the fact that many of the rivers that come from the mountain are rich in iron, which can cause the water to look orangish-red. The Lushootseed word for the mountain means "navel." It has also been recorded as ''bəlalwəʔ'' and ''bəlawəʔ''. Mount Pilchucks Fire Lookout

References

External links

* * * Mountains of Washington (state) Cascade Range Chinook Jargon place names Mountains of Snohomish County, Washington North American 1000 m summits {{SnohomishCountyWA-geo-stub